Second Passport Office Opening

New Broward Site Should Save Time

March 20, 1997|By DAVID NITKIN Staff Writer

Broward County is getting a second passport office, which hopefully will reduce tedious waits at a Hollywood post office and save long drives that some residents now make to Miami or Palm Beach to get documentation.

A State Department ruling that allows a county finance department employee in Fort Lauderdale to issue passport applications and collect money paves the way for the additional office, U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale, said on Wednesday.

Usually, only a clerk of the courts or federal employees such as postal workers are allowed to do the work.

But thanks to Shaw's involvement, spurred by dozens of complaints from people waiting in long lines, the State Department altered its regulations.

"The county wins because they get an added source of revenue [from passport fees), and the people win because they get a more convenient location," Shaw said. "Any way we can serve the people at greater convenience, the better it is."

The office will open in Broward's revenue collection division, on the first floor of the Broward County Governmental Center annex, 115 S. Andrews Ave., officials said.

County commissioners had previously approved adding a clerk's position to do the work, so the office can open in a few weeks, County Administrator B. Jack Osterholt said.

"We're really excited that Shaw helped us over the last hurdle, and we'll work hard to get it open as quickly as possible," Osterholt said.

Broward once had four passport locations, but federal budget cuts slowly whittled the number down. A Fort Lauderdale post office stopped accepting applications about five years ago, and a Pompano Beach post office halted the service two years ago.

In November, during the federal government shutdown, the passport office at the Broward County Courthouse closed and never reopened.

All that made the waits unbearable at the lone remaining Broward office: the post office at 1801 Polk St. in Hollywood.

Many people were forced to drive to Palm Beach or Miami, where the waits weren't much better, Shaw said.